After years of trying to get financing, Marc Forster's film adaptation of World War Z has finally begun shooting on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Here's our first look at zombie carnage, human survivors, and Brad Pitt with a beard!

The Dark Knight Rises goes parachuting in Scotland and plays football in Pittsburgh!

Thor 2 gets a writer, while Roberto Orci explains where Kirk and Spock's relationship will be in the next Star Trek movie!

The G.I. Joe sequel is looking for an action legend to play the original Joe!

And there are major character returns planned for Fringe and True Blood!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from The Hobbit.

The Dark Knight Rises

The movie is reportedly working on some parachute jump stunts up in Scotland, according to the BBC:

"Parachutists dressed in black and using a private jet painted black have been in action at Cairngorm Gliding Club's site at Feshie Bridge. A former US military C130 Hercules transport aircraft linked to The Dark Knight Rises has also been making flights from Inverness Airport. Feshie Bridge was reported as the location for filming earlier this month by Gavin Musgrove, editor of the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald. A chartered helicopter was also at the club's airstrip along with the black jet."

As we mentioned the other day, the movie is shooting an outdoor football game scene between the Gotham Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments, which presumably will serve as a chilling vision of what will happen if the NFL lockout never ends. The day's filming will also involve "tons of special effects, stunts, explosions and pyrotechnics." [Be In A Movie]

Thor 2

Original movie co-writer Don Payne, who has also co-written a bunch of Simpsons episodes, will be writing the screenplay for the sequel, which suggests they won't be eliminating the first movie's sense of humor. [Deadline]

World War Z

Here are the first set photos of the zombie war, including a glimpse of the newly bearded, long-haired Brad Pitt. [FilmDrunk]

Star Trek 2

Cowriter Roberto Orci discusses how the new Star Trek video game ties into Kirk and Spock's evolving relationship, suggesting that the movie sequel will find the two more or less established as the friends we saw in the original continuity:

One of the things I'm proud of most in the first movie is that one of the ways to look at it is that it's about Kirk and Spock and when you saw the original show they already knew each other. One of the things we wanted to show was how they met. We felt that our solutions could have worked for the original series. Some people criticized us for the fact that Spock was logical and Kirk was immature, but our response was that you're meeting them before the original series. In our movie you get to see them grow.

That's what our movie was about and that's what the sequel is going to be about. What's great about the game is that it gets to show that middle step. You get to see Kirk and Spock in a way you're not going to in the movie. They're becoming friends; they're going on adventures you're not going to see in the movies.

Prometheus

20th Century Fox has released an official synopsis for Ridley Scott's de facto Alien prequel:

Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life's ultimate mystery.

John Carter

James Purefoy explains his character:

The character's name is Kantos Kan, and he is an admiral of a big ship, called the Xavarian. He's very close to Tardos Mors, who's played by Ciarán Hinds, who is the Emperor or King of Helium. He's a very cheeky, mischievous soldier/airman. He's not in this film very much, in the first one. I think a lot of the characters in the first John Carter are established, but with the knowledge that they're going to be bigger in the next two episodes of it. So, it's a lovely character. He's just very charming. He's not frightened of getting involved in very sticky situations with John Carter. There's a certain bravado about him. He's a bit Errol Flynn-esque. He has a great lust for life and he's a very positive character, in the film.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Producer Joe Roth reveals the larger plan for the fairy tale adaptation, which seems to promise lots more badass British actors as Roman emperor themed dwarfs:

"It's meant to be the first in a series of films," he said. "This story will end, but there will be questions remaining for these three characters."

He also explains Chris Hemsworth's character, the titular huntsman:

"We retain the basic story in the same way we retain the basic story of Alice, a young girl meant to be the queen who is cast out. The Huntsman is a mercenary, in the sense that he's a guy who is very able in the woods, more able than most anyone. His job is to capture runaway girls, who are all fleeing the kingdom because of the queen. He's a nondescript bounty hunter, as we first meet him. He's not a nice guy, but not only that he's someone who has lost hope and lost faith. He has lost his wife, given up on everything."

G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes

Friday Night Lights star and would-be Wonder Woman Adrianne Palicki has reportedly signed on to play Lady Jaye. The next big casting target is reportedly the original G.I. Joe, Joe Colton, with Bruce Willis the supposed top choice for the role. [Deadline]

Brave

Here's a new image from Pixar's next film, set in a mystical, monster-filled version of the Scottish Highlands (so, you know... pretty much just the Scottish Highlands). [ComingSoon.net]

Doctor Who

The latest, probably garbled and definitely speculative report on what's happening with the next series of Doctor Who says that as few as four episodes might be filmed in 2012. (As opposed to previous reports that 13 episodes would be filmed in 2012, but not all of them would be shown next year.) So, yeah...file that one away as another possibility until the BBC says something official, I guess. [Wales Online]

Torchwood: Miracle Day

"We're still the same edgy ‘Torchwood,' still have the edgy characters and story lines that people seem to like. It wasn't like a shock to the system. Our really core audience are not going to feel that. They are going to feel like it just picks up right where it left off...It was great because all of the sudden, he's vulnerable," Barrowman said. "Jack was ostracized before because he was the only immortal man, and now everybody is immortal and he's ostracized again."

He also said that he will continue playing Captain Jack for as long as he's asked to. [Boston Herald]

Fringe

Kirk Acevedo confirms that there are plans to bring back Charlie Francis next season:

It all depends on my schedule. The only good thing is that I'm going to be in Los Angeles filming Prime Suspect, so it's closer to Vancouver [where Fringe shoots]. I've got no problem [returning] if my schedule allows it.

But they do want you back, right?
Yeah. I spoke to the show runners. They do! I know they want me for a few episodes.

If Charlie does return, what would you like to see happen to him?
I want him to be kooky - the wilder the better for me personally. I'd rather play something really wacky.

True Blood

Denis O'Hare reveals that Russell Edgington won't be back this season, but he will most likely return in season five:

They were definitely bringing me back, it was just a matter of if they wanted to bring me back the last couple episodes or bring me back at the beginning. So they decided to do it at the beginning of season 5.

The rest of the interview features a lot of O'Hare's mostly spoiler-free take on the character. [Film School Rejects]